The weekly billing period on Upwork tracks hours from Monday to Sunday. Clients review work Monday–Friday, and payments are released the following Wednesday.
In this article
- What is the weekly billing period?
- How long do I have to review my work diary before it's submitted to my client?
- How long does my client have to review my weekly work diary once it's submitted?
- How long do I have to wait to be paid for an hourly contract?
- How do I know the status of my payment?
- Why is my payment delayed?
What is the weekly billing period?
Our weekly billing period is a standard seven-day cycle (Monday through Sunday) during which hours logged on hourly contracts are tracked, reviewed by the client, and prepared for payment.
For hourly contracts, except for Upwork Payroll contracts, the billing period begins on Monday at 00:00 midnight UTC and ends on the following Sunday at 23:59 UTC. Your funds become available 10 days later.
At 12 noon UTC on the Monday following the close of the billing period, we automatically invoice your client for all the time that you log in your work diary. We charge their primary billing method and send them a reminder to review your work diary.
Here's the invoicing schedule:
- Week 1 — You log time using the Upwork Desktop App and work diary
- Week 2 — Your clients receive their invoices on Monday and have until Friday to review the work
- Week 3 — Your earnings become available on the following Wednesday
How long do I have to review my work diary before it's submitted to my client?
After the billing period ends, you have 12 hours to look over your work diary and make any final adjustments. You have from Monday at 00:00 midnight to 11:59 a.m. UTC.
How long does my client have to review my weekly work diary once it's submitted?
Clients can review your work diary for five days, from Monday at 12 noon UTC to the following Friday at 23:59 UTC. During this time, they can file a dispute if there is a problem.
How long do I have to wait to be paid for an hourly contract?
To help protect everyone using the platform, We maintain a security period for all transactions — payments and refunds. It gives us time to process and clear payments and resolve any disputes before releasing your funds.
Your payment typically becomes available the following Wednesday after the client review period closes on Friday.
Manual payments from your client, such as a bonus, become available five calendar days after the payment is successfully processed.
Note: Your billing cycle may vary on contracts with Enterprise clients.
How do I know the status of my payment?
You may see a detailed breakdown of your earnings status for a specific contract on your transactions page.
During the security period, the amount paid to you appears in your Pending funds on both your transactions and on your financial overview page. Each payment lists the date we expect it to be available to you.
Why is my payment for an hourly contract delayed?
If your payment isn’t available on the expected date, it usually means we couldn’t charge your client’s payment method — for example, if a card was declined or there weren’t enough funds.
Here’s what happens next:
- We’ll keep trying to collect the payment from your client once a day, for five days
- Until it goes through, your payment will show as pending in your transactions
- If the client doesn’t pay during the five days, we’ll review the work to see if it qualifies for Hourly Payment Protection
If the work is covered by Hourly Payment Protection:
- We’ll pay you directly
- The client’s account may be suspended
- Your contract will be paused and can resume once the client resolves the payment
If it’s not covered by Hourly Payment Protection:
- The status will show as unpaid
- Funds can’t be released until the client pays
- You can still reach out to your client — a check-in often helps move things along